Pain for a Month
by WaterAlchemist22
Summary: This is for my friend on tumblr named heikes-classy-ass. She is a great person and asked for this- me of course accepting. It isn't too long, but it gets the point across. This is how Gray feels when HE is away from Juvia for a month. Enjoy.


A month- It's been a month since the water mage and ice mage had any contact together. No 'Gray-sama'. No smile of hers. No nothing!

Off for a month on a mission was killing the ice mage- but why? Why the hell was he so panicky about not having that girl around? A weird knot grew in his stomach as he thought about her.

The raven-haired teen sat the bar, swirling his glass around. He stared down into the brown liquid, moving it to his lips to chug it down. He wasn't much of a drinker, but some of it was help coping with the "loss" of the water mage.

He wasn't sure what he was feeling, but he knew it was something not good. He really never had a feeling like this- not one this strong that is. But maybe just trying to forget about her was a good idea.

Forget about her smile. Forget about her voice. Forget how her blue waves framed her face. Yeah- forget it all.

Now that was a stupid idea! It caused him to think even more about how much he missed her!

He took another gulp of the beer down, slamming the cup onto the counter. He let go of the handle, moving both of his hands up for his fingers to roam through his black locks. A sigh escaped his lips as he thought more about her.

"_Gray-sama?"_

_He swirled in his stool to glance over at her, a bit curious why she was acting a bit odd. "What is it?"_

_Juvia moved her hand up to her forehead, like she was saluting him. "Juvia just wanted to talk to Gray-sama!" She giggled, bringing her hand down to her side._

_Gray smiled slightly, a chuckle leaving his mouth. "Alright- but I don't have long. I have a mission soon."_

_Juvia sat on the other bar stool, swirling to get a better view on him. A small sigh escaped her lips as she hung her head low. "Juvia hates when Gray-sama goes on missions."_

"_W-What? Why?" He was honestly curious- why would she not like it?_

"_Because Gray-sama talks to Juvia and when he is gone- she is alone. She misses her friend." Juvia looked at him, a forced smile on her face. "Just don't be too long, alright?"_

"_It'll only be for a week or two. Go on a mission yourself if you miss me that much. It could get your mind off of it."_

"_Of course. Juvia believes that is a good idea." She stood from the stool, dusting her skirt off. "Juvia will go and look at the mission board right now." _

_She turned around and walked over to the board as her boots clicked against the ground. Gray turned back to look down at the bar before he heard the boots stop clicking. He looked over to see the water mage saluting him once again, her wide smile plastered on her face._

"_Thank you, Gray-sama."_

_Gray smiled back, but gave a cough to cover it up with his hand. "Uh- yeah. Your welcome."_

_Juvia gave him a nod to his words, quickly turning around to proceed back to the board._

Gray continued to swirl his cup around, still glancing down at the drink. He brought it back to his lips to jug a good amount of it down. A sigh of contentment left his lips, along with a small burp.

Was he really missing her that much? Was he missing her so much that it hurt him? That it made him feeling like his heart was being beat with a metal bat that was just bathing in molten lava?

Was this how _she_ felt?

No- it can't be. If that is seriously how she felt, that must be a horrible time when she doesn't go on a mission and he's gone for a month. How could her heart sustain all the times he goes?

"_Juvia?" The ice mage looked down at the girl as she sat against the post that she usually hid behind. "What are you doing?"_

_Juvia's blinked her eyes to get adjusted to the light from the guild. Her eyes were a bit droopy along with a few dark circles underneath her eyes. Her lips were quivering as she looked up at Gray with a confused look. _

_Gray knelt down to her level, placing the back of his hand onto her forehead. "Are you alright, Juvia?"_

_Juvia nodded her head slowly, barely understanding what he saying- it sounded a bit like gibberish to her. "U-Uh- Juvia is just sleepy."_

"_Are you not getting enough sleep?"_

_Juvia tried her best to keep her eyes open, but it was hard to fight the drowsiness off. "Juvia hasn't been sleeping much."_

"_What's keeping you awake? There always is a reason for not sleeping, correct?"_

"_Not always, but-" Juvia cut herself off with a cough, her nose getting a bit red. "This instance seems to be about Gray-sama." She totally forgot she was speaking to Gray._

"_W-What do you mean?"_

_Her eyes closed as her head began to get a bit irritating and heavy. She brought her head to the side, resting it onto her own shoulder. "Because Juvia hates the day before he leaves- Juvia knows she won't be able to sleep with Gray-sama being gone; even if she hugs her stuffed Gray-sama."_

_Gray moved his hands to grip onto her, picking her up to carry her bridal style. "Mira keeps a bed in the back for any members who don't get enough sleep at home." Gray quickly carried her, but felt a grip tightening on his shirt._

"_Juvia misses Gray-sama so much when he is gone that she can't even talk to anyone around the guild."_

_Gray frowned, ignoring the comment as he felt her slowly falling asleep in his arms. His stare was a bit cold as his eyes were planted on her. But he still continued to walk her over to the bed, resting her down._

_She began to toss and turn for a few seconds before letting a small protesting groan out from her lips. "Juvia wants Gray-sama to stay- stop leaving."_

_Gray couldn't believe his ears as he looked down at her. He felt a pressure on his hand as he noticed hers gripping onto his. "Juvia." He mumbled before he closed his eyes, trying to think of what to do. He made his decision and removed his hand from hers, turning around to head back to the guild and get ready for his mission._

Why did he leave like that when she wanted him to hold her and let her fall asleep?! Now he exactly knows how she feels- how she felt when she had to watch him leave- how she felt when she thought of him never returning.

Dark circles began to appear under his eyes as well, not as bad, but still visible. He swung his mug around, looking around for Mirajane. "More." He demanded.

Mirajane glanced over at him, a small frown appearing. "You don't drink this much usually, Gray. Do you want to maybe switch to water or something more calming?"

"Now why would I want to do that?"

"Because you are beginning to get like Cana-san or like Juvia did once."

"Wait- Go back. Juvia has gotten drunk before here?"

Mirajane placed her hand to her cheek, a small laugh escaping her lips. "Oh yes she has. It was once and it was just before the mission you just left on."

"What exactly happened?"

"Well she started to go on a small rant about how she misses you and wishes you wouldn't leave for more than a week at a time. We all tried being reasonable with her- but she wouldn't listen. She decided to leave on her mission after a few days you were gone, something about not being able to take it anymore. Speaking of which, she should've been back by now."

"What?! She went that early? Why isn't she back yet?"

"Maybe she just got held up-" Mira was interrupted with gasps coming from around. The doors were open and the light poured through, showing the figure of the water mage.

Juvia limped over the best she could, holding on her right thigh. A few people went over to help her all the way to the bar, sitting her down on the stool. After all, that is where she was heading.

"G-Gray-sama." Juvia smiled at him, moving her bleeding hand to grab onto his.

Gray would say he was concerned and scared, but that was an understatement.

He didn't move his hand from hers as he kept his eyes staring at her face, especially her smile. Is this also how she felt when he came back all messed up? Such a horrible feeling that he would never wish upon his greatest enemies.

_Maybe I do_. He thought. _Maybe I do like her._


End file.
